Gun that landed Marine Jon Hammar in Mexican prison was legal

The gun that landed former Marine Jon Hammar in a notorious Mexican prison was legal under that country’s federal laws, according to a well-known hunting guide who leads ventures south of the border.

Robert Beall, of Tall Tine Outfitters of Mexico and formerly host of the Pursuit Channel television show “World of Hunting,” said the vintage Sears Roebuck shotgun that Hammar declared to Mexican customs officials in Matamoros, Mexico, Aug. 13 while on his way to Costa Rica should not have landed the 27-year-old Hammar in prison. He’s been held at the infamous CEDES prison for more than four months awaiting trial for carrying an illegal weapon.

“Based on what I have read, he was totally within the parameters of the law in terms of the weapon,” Beall said.

Even if Hammar did not have the proper permits, carrying the weapon did not merit prison time, according to Beall.